Minutes: June 19, 2015 – NorCal

NOTE: The board was unable to meet as planned in person at Pismo Beach this weekend because we did not have accommodations, so the board met separately in two locations during one weekend. NorCal met Friday June 19 up north, and SoCal met Saturday June 20 down south. Patricia Stark attended both meetings. The NorCal minutes here should be read in conjunction with the SoCal minutes from June 20 to comprise complete minutes for the two­part board meeting.

Treasurer’s report: With Kelly Goff absent because of the split meetings, Timi gave the treasurer’s report. Timi said JACC currently has about $60,000 in its bank account, but it still owes the Sacramento DoubleTree roughly the same amount. JACC is waiting for additional membership fees to come in to pay this bill. Timi is currently owed $8,500 for her job as Events Director; she has not been paid for this year.

Timi also said the organization needs to decide if it will continue with Wild Apricot, the Web-based billing and conference enrollment software it currently uses. Wild Apricot’s rates will increase from $50 a month to $70 a month in September, but JACC can lock in the old rate if it agrees to a two-year contract by Aug. 31. Patricia moved to make this decision at the August board meeting.

Communications director: Patricia discussed conversations she and Timi have had with new Communications Director Alicia Edquist. She requested the board give Alicia more direction in light of the lack of communication over the past year, most of which the position has sat vacant.

Patricia recommended that Alicia make the website a priority and to decide eventually how to handle social media, specifically keeping or consolidating/limiting current channels.

Patricia also asked the board to help Alicia craft guidelines or rules about who can and cannot be part of the Google email group that replaced the Faculty Listserv. A brief discussion looked at possible exceptions to a faculty-only group (a faculty member who loses his/her program, four-year university faculty with a vested interest in community colleges, student board members, instructional aides, retirees, etc.). After a brief discussion, the board decided to table this discussion until board members had time to think about complex exceptions. Patricia asked board members to have ideas ready for the August meeting.

6.1. Regional conferences: Patricia spoke briefly about the upcoming regional conferences. The Northern California conference, scheduled for Nov. 7, and chaired by Judy House, was in good shape, according to Patricia. The Southern California conference lacked a chairperson and had additional issues that Patricia said she would discuss with the Southern California board members. These issue largely stem from construction at Cal State Fullerton, which could impact the ability of the university to host the conference.

6.2. Incoming student representatives: Judy gave advice to incoming student representatives Cheyenne Drury and Joseph Daniels, explaining to them that it was important that they be the voice of the students in JACC as it undergoes transition this year. Judy also noted that a year is a short period to be on the board, and suggested the students be aware of that. Walter echoed that statement, saying to think small and concretely about changes that can improve the organization for students rather than having large, abstract ideas.

6.3. On the spot judging: The board spoke about judging criteria in light of multiple contests having “no award given” at the recent state convention. Walter proposed either creating a “1-4 must award” system or demanding judges who decline to award all four places provide an explanation that would be read during the awards presentation. Similarly, the board discussed the role of the proctor and suggested that proctors be reminded that their role exists from the start of the contest to the end of judging. The board agreed to have Walter draft language regarding the “no awards given required explanation” proposal for consideration at the August board meeting.

6.4. CNPA Services. The board discussed the proposed contract with CNPA Services to take over the bureaucratic and administrative roles of JACC. Dave asked, given JACC’s financial issues, how the organization would be able to fulfill its payments to CNPA. Tom Newton of CNPA said he was “anxious” to get started with JACC and would be willing to work out/delay payment until money came in from membership dues. Tom also said that CNPA likely would not collect monthly, based on its own work practices, but rather would collect based on JACC’s cash flow.

Timi asked about possible contradictions and duplicity in the CNPA contract. Patricia and Timi asked that some language within the contract change.

Patricia said she would set up a Google poll for a vote on the contract once she returned from the Southern California meeting.

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